My sister and I (we're twins ) are making Jedi costumes (a lot like Jaina?s) and my sister wrote a fanfic a while ago and in the book she made me a Japor Snippet and I put it on my lightsaber, and she made another identical one to wear as a necklace. Long story short I want to make her one for the Halloween party we're going to wear our costumes. (No one else will get it but hey! )

My Question is, how??? I tried clay but I couldn't get the shape right , I?m wondering if there's a pattern out there that tells the shape and size? Also I was wondering if others had made these (and I know I can't be the only one!) what did they make it out of? I?m starting to rethink the idea of clay because it'll be really heavy... I was thinking plastic but where do you buy plastic that thick? I do plastic modeling so I know that you can buy think stuff. This is my first time making something from scratch... (well I made a hand solo blaster out of TP tubes, Medicine Cups, small bottles and tape... lots of tape... ) but the first "bead" if you will that I?ve made, I make jewelry all the time but never a costume piece like this.

I'd make it out of sculpey. Sculpey is pretty lightweight; I have a necklace made of 14 1-inch sculpey squares and it is no problem to wear at all.

As for scale, your guess is as good as anyone's. Well, I suppose you could wikipedia Natalie Portman's height, and then get a picture of her with the snippet on, and use math to figure out what proportion the snippet's length is to her height, then figure out the actual size from there.

I had someone make one for Catherine Taber (voice of Padme in The Clone Wars) for her Honorary Membership induction to the Rebel Legion. I can put you in contact with the person who made it if you want.

Wow guys, some great idea's! right now I'm following a lead about using Bone (like dog chewing bone) but keep the idea's flowing! (might just try the rest of the idea's too, they're all so creative!

JedHead1 - Lucky! i know Cat Taber as mission Vao in KOTOR and as Padme, what i wouldn't give to meet her! how much would your friend charge to make somthing like that?

Commander-DWH & spacelady - where would you buy Sculpey? Wal*mart?

CernStormrunner - That's a good idea, i've got alot spare wood lying around the house form some projects my dad used to do... hmmm!

Thanks for the idea's my dad's comming home tonight so i'll talk to him about the logistic's and permission to use his tools (not useually allowed, we had a pipe burst under the sink and spray water everywhere and I had to fix the pipe, there's another reason dad's rock!)

This is slightly off-topic, but it's basically the same. I would post this in the Pastel Gown thread, but it's locked.

I bought some Scupley today (As for AricaBolts's question, I found this one at Wal-Mart, yes. Michael's would probably carry something like it, I imagine) and made the neck piece of the Pastel gown, only problem, it collapsed a bit while baking in the oven. I was trying to think of something oven-proof to put under it to keep it's shape, but nothing came to mind. Anyone got any ideas to help?

What I would do is use a head band to hold it up, maybe create a sleeve or somthing to stick the head band into, you can also buy head bands that you're supposed to put beads on that are just thin bits of mettle, you might try that!

I'd be worried that the headband would melt...or something. I'm a little cautious when it comes to putting things in the oven. Though I did roll up some foil in balls to hold the shape of the arm bands and they actually came out pretty decent! It was a great idea! Thank you.

I've been meaning to post for weeks now, but it just seems like Life Vs. Time again! lol.

Okay, First off i'd like to say that I attempted to make the Snippets out of Clay again last week, they went from blobs (first attempt) to recognizable (this time)! (ha ha!) it's not a very good job (my version would never be called a 'prop replica'), and I think i'll keep working on it, but so far, so good. I'm happy with them and my sister's happy. (my mom's clueless as to what they are! lol.)

I'll post Pictures when We're done with the costume too. hoping I can get my sister off the computer some time today!

I also want to thank everyone for they're help and support, hearing how you guys (what I'd call pros at this sort of thing!) did it was very helpful!

I have been following this thread for a little while now and I've tried the sculpey thing yesterday. I used the Premo variety (the one that's slightly flexible), and what I've found is that if you put too much pressure on the edge of the pendant, cracks form across the right hand side of the square and break. It may be that I have been using the wrong type of sculpey for what I need, or it might be that I'm simply being too rough with it. Either way, I'll be making more of them, and testing to see if I can make it a little stronger in future.

I have been following this thread for a little while now and I've tried the sculpey thing yesterday. I used the Premo variety (the one that's slightly flexible), and what I've found is that if you put too much pressure on the edge of the pendant, cracks form across the right hand side of the square and break. It may be that I have been using the wrong type of sculpey for what I need, or it might be that I'm simply being too rough with it. Either way, I'll be making more of them, and testing to see if I can make it a little stronger in future.

Hmm... You might be being too rough with it possibly.

I just made my Japor Snippet for my Padme nightgown costume that I'm doing for the Halloween Party at my school This Friday. And I used Premo Accents Sculpey. It took me a bit to get it to a workable state and to the shape I wanted but this was the result:

(Don't mind the messy hair...that's just me after a looongg day.)

[image=http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltpaa6ZbLY1r4999vo1_500.jpg]

Also it probably has to do with how you're baking it. Here's the info about cracking I found on the main website for Sculpey and the people who Make Sculpey products.

Polyform Products Company FAQ - Baking said:

How do I prevent cracking and breaking?

Cracking is almost always caused by insufficient curing or by uneven thickness in the sculpture. If you ?bulk out" the thick areas with foil or use SculpeyÂ® UltraLight? as an armature, and adhere to proper baking times and temperatures, most problems can be avoided. Sometimes the cause can be from baking on an unstable or uneven surface. Always use a type of support under the clay if there are raised portions, as it softens slightly before it hardens in the baking process and can sag or crack if not properly supported.

If the clay is slightly dry, this can also cause cracking. Add some SculpeyÂ® Clay Softener, work in, and the clay will be re-constituted. Because the clays shrink less than 1 percent when baking, this does not lead to cracking except in cases where the layer is extremely thin, such as over a glass vessel. Over time, because of temperature and humidity changes, a crack may occur.

You also have to remember that Premo! Bakes differently then regular Sculpey. I looked up the baking instructions after doing what normal Sculpey says for baking because after I took it out of the oven and let it sit for a little bit it was still a bit soft. For Premo! You need to bake it at 275F (135C) for 30 minutes for every 1/4 inch of thickness.